Can I call it as 'Intellectual Prostitution'?

By Vijay Joshi

What do you think is the responsibility of a Journalist? Do you think that Journalist's work is simply to report that what has happened; its time, place and the reason? If so, then, what is the need for a Journalist to have his own, self-defined, social concern? Why should he study the history, as well as literature, of his nation and the world? What is, then, the objective of these three year bachelors program, continued by two years post graduation, in Journalism? Isn't it then fair enough for him to have a reasonably good hold on language and ability to report events, and/or development, as and when they occur? It's not that I don't have respect for university qualified journalists or their work. But, honestly, I have a doubt that is going unanswered for a long time now.

A Journalist, in the name of freedom of speech, questions almost every act of politicians, celebrities and society as a whole. He tends to criticize, and give suggestion, whenever the society, according to him, goes against the interest of his ideologies which may term 'National Interests'. But what if the very journalist starts working against the sentiments of the society and nation? Who is to scrutinize him?

Let's take, for example, 'Harijan' newspaper started by Mahatma Gandhi or 'Prabuddha Bharata' of Swami Vivekananda or 'Kesari' of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. None of the people, who founded or ran these papers, had a degree or certificate in Journalism. Even then their newspapers received nationwide acceptance during the time of Indian Freedom Struggle.

I am of the belief that, if at all, they were successful it was because of the noble principles and values for which those newspapers stood for, boldly, and not for their exclusive contents or special coverage, that which boosts the Viewership or Readership ratings in modern day context. They proved the point that 'Value' is that what makes a paper successful and not anything else. Considering this the question which rises in mind is: As to why is it that we aren't we able to find such noble principles and commitment in modern Medias?

We certainly know how corrupt our politicians are. Yet, when on special occasion, like that of Gandhi Jayanti, when same corrupt politicians deliver a speech it is reported in the media, almost instantaneously. 'Call to follow the principles of Gandhiji' like headlines run. Can there be something more ridiculous than this? Isn't it, then, a mockery of those nationalist ideals propounded by Gandhiji?

In contemporary journalism we can seldom imagine a newspaper, or media, without a touch of politics. But it is indeed difficult to find a newspaper with even few apolitical headlines. It is not that apolitical issues are not happening, but simply because our media is not giving any attention to them. Politics continue to dominate their spaces.

Why only that? Let's take for a moment a Sunday special supplement of a leading newspaper. You find in it, at the least, one titillating picture of not an ordinary working-class woman, but of a celebrity. And the same paper will complain in its coming week's editorial for having made 'Sex' a commodity in movies. The same newspaper which cautions the civilized society on deteriorating moral values sacrifices its commitment just to increase its circulation. Little is different with electronic Medias.

Founder Editor of Kesari, then, Bal Gangangadhar Tilak wrote patriotic editorial against Lord Curzon when he ordered to partition Bengal on the basis of religion, in the year 1905. It, the editorial, made the people of this nation to rise and protest against the partition. The whole country witnessed an unprecedented upsurge of nationalist sentiments. The surge of the nationalism became so much unbearable that Curzon had to call back his decree.

Of course Kesari was one among many papers. Other newspapers included 'Vande Mataram' of Yogi Aravinda and 'National Herald' of Jawaharlal Nehru. Almost all newspaper of pre-independent era fought for noble principle and also for a Free India. It fought, beyond doubt, for a better society at the cost of sacrificing their personal benefits. Why isn't it happening today? Where are those values, zeal and conviction in our modern day journalists?

Then British, now Terrorists are the greatest enemies of the land who are sabotaging the very nerve of our Nationalist perspectives. Terrorist in the past three decades have killed so many innocent lives which even Britons failed to achieve in their almost three centuries of rule. At least one Indian becomes victim of terror every week, yet our media reports this in the farthest possible corner of their medium. Do they consider this less important with respect to Ash-Abhishek wedding? Are such 'high-profile' celebrity weddings more important than martyrdom of our Soldiers fighting our enemies at the border? How can a newspaper which calls itself committed to National cause advocate 'mercy plea' for terrorist's life, like Afzal Khan, in its Editorial?

No I don't intend to say that no newspaper is working against terrorists and anti-national elements but most of the newspapers have failed to instigate in people the will, like that of Kesari, Vande Mataram and National Herald, to fight for the National cause.

If there were no Tilak, Aravinda or Gandhi, what would have been our position on war against the British? We tend to believe that we are independent, but we are yet to find freedom from several evils like terrorism, blind beliefs, unemployment, inequality and several others. Multinational companies, one can find on in-depth research, are exploiting India more dangerously than the Britons, then. Yet our media is mum.

Can we ignore the contribution of media for the unity of nation during the war for independence? It would not be wrong if I say we got independence and formed a nation owing, also, to that Nationalist Newspaper. But we had just achieved a partial independence and not complete one. But where are such media today? Do you think our IT oriented, celebrity oriented media is working for eradicating social inequality? The question that bothers me badly is how can India progress and be a developed nation by 2020 without our media joining their hands?

We call those women who sell themselves for money to lechers as 'prostitutes'. Will it be wrong, then, if I call the act sacrificing moral values for advertisement revenue by the main-stream media and journalists as "Intellectual Prostitution"? If not, why?